Challenger Middle School
Air Academy High School (AAHS) is a public high school in
El Paso County, Colorado
El Paso County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. The 2020 Census recorded its population as 730,395. The Census Bureau's 2020 result indicates it is the most populous county in Colorado, surpassing the City and County of De ...
, United States that serves the northwestern end of
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, as well as the
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...
. Air Academy is a part of
Academy School District 20. It is the only high school in the U.S. built on a military academy (the school district also has an elementary school on the Air Force Academy).
Air Academy is situated in the foothills of the
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...
, at an approximate
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
.
Academics
AAHS offers
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
classes to students in numerous subject areas.
Athletics
Air Academy offers varsity and junior varsity athletic teams competing in
Colorado High School Activities Association
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) is the governing body for all high school activities throughout the state of Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United Stat ...
4A and 5A sporting events. Facilities at the school include two gyms, a weights facility, a track, a yoga and fitness room, soccer, baseball, and softball field, eight tennis court, and an outdoor football/soccer stadium (nicknamed the K-Dome).
Bill Mondt
William E. Mondt (born c. 1936) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football as a linebacker and offensive guard for the Colorado Buffaloes from 1956 to 1958 and was the head coach of the New Mexico Lobos from 1974 to ...
coached Kadet football to a state football championship in 1962; he went on to be head coach at New Mexico University and later coached successfully at Eaton CO High School
Gary Barnett
Gary Lee Barnett (born May 23, 1946) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Fort Lewis College (1982–1983), Northwestern University (1992–1998), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (1999–2005), ...
was the head football coach at AAHS in the 1970s; he was later the head coach at
Northwestern (
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
–
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
) and
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
(
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
–
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
).
Notable alumni
*
T. A. Barron
Thomas Archibald Barron (born March 26, 1952) is an American writer of fantasy literature, books for children and young adults, and nature books.
Biography
Barron spent his early childhood in Harvard, Massachusetts, a town full of apple orcha ...
, fantasy writer
*
Gregg Brandon
Gregg Brandon (born February 29, 1956) is a former American football coach and player. He was most recently the head football coach at the Colorado School of Mines, a position he had held from 2015 until his retirement after the 2021 season. Pri ...
, football coach
*
Donald Cerrone
Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ultimat ...
, retired professional
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
, formerly with
World Extreme Cagefighting
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...
, recently retired from
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
*
Pat Forde
Pat Forde is a sports journalist who is a national columnist for ''Sports Illustrated''. He previously worked for ESPN, ''The Courier-Journal'' in Louisville, Kentucky, and ''Yahoo Sports''.
Personal life and education
Forde is a native of C ...
, sports journalist currently with ''Sports Illustrated''
*
Lyndon King, retired professional football player...Chargers and Raiders
*
Wil McCarthy
Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged ...
, inventor, scientist, science fiction writer
*
John Novembre, MacArthur Genius Award winner; Professor of Computational Genetics, University of Chicago
*
Pat Rice
Patrick James Rice, MBE (born 17 March 1949) is a Northern Irish former footballer and coach. As a player, he made over 500 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 ca ...
, former
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player (
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
) and career pitching coach
*
Eric Franklin Rosser, former keyboardist for
John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...
*
Matt Slauson
Matthew Benjamin Slauson (born February 18, 1986) is a former American football guard. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the Chicago Bears, San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, and Indi ...
, professional football player...NFL Chargers and others
*
Maxwell Atoms
Adam Maxwell Burton, known professionally as Maxwell Atoms, is an American animator, screenwriter, storyboard artist, and voice actor. He is the creator of the Cartoon Network series ''Grim & Evil'' and its subsequent spin-offs, ''The Grim Advent ...
, Creator of the Cartoon Network series Grim and Evil, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Evil Con Carne
*
Steven Alexander Stephen or Steven Alexander may refer to:
*Stephen Alexander (American football) (born 1975), American football tight end
* Steven Alexander (singer), on ''The Voice UK''
*Stephen Alexander (astronomer)
Stephen Alexander (September 1, 1806 – ...
, Award winning producer and director
*
Rodney Zimmerman Rodney may refer to:
People
* Rodney (name)
* Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler
Places
;Australia
* Electoral district of Rodney, a former electoral district in Victoria
* Rodney County, Queensland
;Canada
* Rodney, Ontario, a ...
, Professional basketball player NBA and Europe
*
Jeff King, Professional baseball player MLB Pirates and Royals
See also
*
Academy School District 20
References
External links
*
Educational institutions established in 1957
Public high schools in Colorado
Schools in El Paso County, Colorado
1957 establishments in Colorado
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